Date: 2018-09-18

Kwara state Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB) teachers on Monday failed to resume for the 2018/2019 academic session over non-payment of four months salaries and pensions.

The teachers staged a peaceful rally from the Ilorin Grammar School (IGS) around Gari-Alimi area to the headquarters of the state's Nigeria Union Teachers (NUT) office along Asa Dam area of Ilorin, the state capital.

The protesters under the aegis of Concerned Teachers accused the leadership of the state NUT of not having the interest of the teachers at heart.

The teachers had last week warned that they would not resume work for the new academic calendar until their requests are granted.

The angry teachers on getting to the NUT secretariat put the doors of the gate and office of the state NUT chairman under lock and key.

They wielded placards with inscriptions such as 'skewed implementation of national housing fund scheme," 'salary disparity between TESCOM and SUBEB,' 'say no to inconsistent salary policies,' "annual leave bonus should be reintroduced,' 'poor and frustrating arrangement benefits for teachers retirees,' 'putting stop to promotion steps embargo since 2013.'

Spokesperson of the Concerned Teachers, Abdulwahab Abubakar, said "we are here to tell the NUT chairman to go on air and tell the whole world that SUBEB teachers are not resuming until the backlog of our salary arrears are paid.

Equally, we have been denied promotion since 2013. They gave us two promotion letters that do not have financial backing. I wonder why and how Kwara state government will be there and teachers will be hungry. Do they expect a hungry teacher to deliver lesson properly in class?

"Our patience has been exhausted. We cannot bear it anymore. That is why we are here in large numbers to impress it on the state chairman to announce our refusal to resume work. As I am talking to you we are waiting for the NUT chairman to do the needful, but unfortunately he is not around. They owe us over four month salaries. The salary arrears spread from 2015 till date.

"We will continue to protest and stay off work until the chairman announce our resumption of strike. Or better still until our salaries and other entitlements are paid."